99-58
STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN ARTHUR LEVITT
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
CONCERNING EXTENDED MARKET HOURS
MAY 27, 1999
Chairman Arthur Levitt today issued the following statement:
The Commission strongly supports investor choice in
trading hours. Before widespread trading begins outside of
regular hours, however, a number of investor protection and
market integrity issues need to be addressed.
Regardless of what hours the markets operate, the
industry must place the interests of the investor ahead of
all other considerations.
The Commission will continue to work with the major
market participants to ensure that these issues are given
careful consideration. First and foremost, broker-dealers
should inform investors of the risks and benefits of trading
outside regular market hours. Broker-dealers should inform
retail investors in particular about after-hours liquidity
and volatility conditions so investors can make an informed
choice concerning whether their orders should be executed in
the after-hours market.
The Commission will also continue to work with the self-
regulatory organizations, the clearing organizations, and
vendors to address issues that impact the national market
system including broad dissemination of pricing information,
compliance and operational issues, such as systems capacity
and planning, and clearance and settlement issues.